According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2011-2015 depreciated by -1.7% during June, following light depreciation (-0.5%) in May. Cars overall saw noticeably higher depreciation at -2.2%, compared with trucks, which saw just -1.3% on the month. All vehicles are averaging a 12-month depreciation change of -15.4%, in line with pre-recession rates.

Sub-Compact Luxury Utilities saw the highest depreciation during June at…

Key Tracking Systems for Car Dealerships is a mature market with little or no innovation in recent years.  Names like Morse Watchmans, Keyper Systems, KeyTrak, etc are recognizable names for providing these systems.  

Key and Car Tracking, llc is introducing the next generation of key tracking systems for car dealerships.  Using an advanced cloud based application as…

I recently attended a few conventions where I had the opportunity to meet and talk with many automotive product vendors and automotive dealer principals. Often, the conversations revolved around relationship-building between the two. When asked, both the vendors and the dealers agreed that the most important thing in any business relationship is the…

3 Birds analyzes results of more than 42,000 Digital Newsletter sends to reveal impact on engaging defectors, building brand affinity, generating consistently impressive ROI, and more

Chapel Hill, N.C., July 11, 2016 -- As the amount of time consumers spend researching dealerships online increases, so does the importance of maximizing each communication that dealers send to their customer database. Many dealers have squandered the goodwill of their customers through…

This Week in Social Media

News for the Week of July 11

New Snapchat Memories Feature

The new Snapchat Memories feature is a way for users to save Snaps and Stories on the popular app, allowing them to create personal collections of favorite moments.  Memories will show up right below the Camera screen, allowing for easy access simply by swiping up to open. …

Across the business world today, there is a mad race going on to select and develop HIPOs within an organization. In case you're not familiar with HIPOs, they are the high potential employees, the rising stars in a company. There is an even more dramatic event taking place as talent management experts and HR specialist are trying to delineate the best time to tell a…

Have you lost your home keys? Or, do you want to improve this? A professional locksmith can assist you in this situation. Lock system is the main source of ensuring your safety along with your property. But this is quite true that we often neglect this particular mechanical item and for that we have to pay. Auto locksmith service is…

When you think of all the things that go into making your dealership a success, communication ranks at the top of the list. In fact, without good communication—both inside the dealership and with your customer base—you’ll likely suffer unnecessary losses in sales, employees, and customers. And while it’s one of the most integral pieces to your success, great communication can also be one of the most difficult things to achieve. Why? Because your dealership is a complicated machine with many…

In my past few blogs, I discussed the various areas in a dealership that are affected by the current recall epidemic, compared the differing viewpoints about recall repairs from dealers and consumers, discussed non-compliance in recall repairs on…

Leave Little for Chance

 

I’ve noticed there is a direct relationship with success and how little you leave…

Why Auto Dealers Must Embrace Digital Marketing

You may have heard it time and again, but if you aren’t using digital in your marketing plans, you are losing out. Simply put, traditional marketing no longer works like it used to for auto dealerships. According to research by …

We are all chasing that elusive thing we call success. Every person deep in their heart has a desire to achieve, to contribute, and to feel like what they do makes a difference. No one wakes up and says, "I want to pursue mediocrity and fail." So how do you define success in life? What does it mean to you? Until you define the outcome you are chasing,…

The chances are pretty good that any email lead YOU receive is also sent to competing dealerships. That means the car shopper will get emails and phone calls from other salespeople looking to sell that customer a car. Unless the lead is on a unique used vehicle, your competitors have the same new vehicles in their inventory.

Therefore, reaching that customer…

It’s no surprise social media continues to surge as a means of keeping in touch, sharing information, and comparing product feedback.  Now, more than ever, companies are turning to video to reach consumers for one very compelling reason: it works. It’s estimated 71% of companieswill increase their video marketing budgets this year, and that’s because video has become…

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download…

Take Control of Your Dealership’s Communication

If you want to capture the attention of shoppers in today’s market, communication should be one of the sharpest tools in your toolbox. Remember the days of desk phones and tangled cords? The me-to-you approach of salespeople who told customers all about the cars on the lot?  The newspaper ads that detailed the “special invitations” to save?  Say good-bye to all of that, because dealership communication has come…

As I walked into one of my client's education rooms recently, I was immediately inspired by their approach to conducting training and "Get Up" meetings. There were positive phrases all over the wall that promoted their culture. High-energy music played from a selected playlist intentionally used to elevate the moods of those in attendance. Leaders greeted every person…

Urbandale, IA--July 5th, 2016--Flick Fusion today announced that its COO Tim James and Director of Marketing Gina Reuscher were both selected to speak at the 21st Digital Dealer Convention and Expo to be held August 8-10, 2016 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Both speaker presentations will focus on the growing importance of video marketing and how dealerships can incorporate this powerful medium into their marketing strategies.

"Digital Dealer is the…

PCG Research is conducting a new research project on auto dealership's utilization and experience with Google advertising. Since U.S. dealers are shifting more of their marketing dollars to online advertising strategies, the data from this survey will spark new conversations on how Google agency partners can better serve the franchise dealer community. 

PCG is collecting feedback from U.S. franchise…

Did you know subject lines framed as questions get fewer open rates and replies?

Most people assume you SHOULD ask questions in your subject line in order to get more open rates when that’s not the case.  You can also increase the success of your marketing campaign by dropping the exclamation points! 

We know it’s hard to break the mold, and…